creating sustainable solutions through partnership … · or largely philanthropic mindset, towards...

CREATING SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS THROUGH PARTNERSHIP AND INNOVATION

IN EAST AFRICA

Final Report

SUMMARY OF KEY INSIGHTS, LEARNINGS AND NEXT STEPS

TUESDAY, 7 MARCH 2017

2 Creating Sustainable Solutions through Partnership and Innovation in East Africa

Executive Summary

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland and the Embassy of Finland in Nairobi (hereafter, the

Government of Finland) and the UNICEF Eastern and Southern African Regional Office and the Finnish

National Committee for UNICEF (hereafter, UNICEF) co-hosted a one-day event on 7 March 2017 in

Nairobi, Kenya. The event brought together East African, Finnish, and multi-national stakeholders in

order to better understand how shared value partnerships, with innovation as a driver of social impact,

can support the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), specifically as they relate

to women, youth, and children.

Research by the Business and Sustainable Development Commission (published in February 2017)

showed that achieving the SDGs offers an economic prize of at least US$1.1 trillion by 2030 for the

private sector in Africa. A significant piece of this opportunity, and the related development challenges,

are in East Africa. The shared value approach clearly has a fundamental role to play in the future

sustainable development in the region. Such an approach can lead businesses to re-design products,

redefine the markets they are aimed at, improve productivity through their value chains or foster local

community entrepreneurship. Shared value programmes require partnerships in which all stakeholders

benefit by leveraging each other’s assets, including business models, expertise, and competencies.

With a strong focus on both theoretical and practical knowledge, eighty-five colleagues participated in a

building-block approach that unpacked the following key issues:

The private sector is key to unlocking development challenges;

The development sector can play a role in bridging the skill gap faced by companies;

SDG-led shared value approaches work best when certain conditions are met;

A shared value approach needs to be led from the top and involve employees;

Shared value thinking gives a new perspective on partnership;

Co-development is key;

Global development needs offer a platform ripe for innovation; and

The frameworks and tools for addressing development challenges are changing.

Throughout the workshop, participants identified key considerations for success when developing shared

value partnerships. Overall, the best shared value programmes are those which combine: a deep

awareness of community needs; commercial opportunities; measurable goals and metrics; a set of

partners who clearly understand their roles and potential gains from the partnership; an awareness of the

challenges expected in delivery; and, ideally a return on investment which makes the investment case

for the programme. Shared value partnerships in East Africa can be expected to face the usual challenges

encountered by the development and private sector alike, such as bureaucracy, resistance to change,

and the lack of infrastructure. However, by working together across sectors and focusing on creating

mutual value, these barriers are more likely to be overcome.

Following the workshop, the Government of Finland and UNICEF are exploring further ways to take the

concept of shared value partnerships forward, noting the importance of innovation as a tool.

Stakeholders based in East Africa are also actively following up with each other to initiate more detailed

dialogues on shared value.


Workshop background

In November 2015, the Government of Finland in partnership with UNICEF hosted the Global Innovations

Summit for Children and Youth from “Start-Up to Scale-Up” which convened more than 500 dynamic

stakeholders in Helsinki, Finland. Seeking to build on the momentum of this important dialogue in

Helsinki, the Government of Finland and UNICEF hosted a one-day event on 7 March 2017 in Nairobi,

Kenya to bring together East African, Finnish, and multi-national stakeholders. The primary goal was to

better understand how shared value partnerships, with innovation as a driver of social impact, can support

the achievement of the SDGs, specifically as they relate to women, youth, and children. In an inspiring,

yet practical process, the event focused on securing the following outcomes:

Initiation of a strong dialogue on a “shared value” approach to private sector growth in East Africa.

As a follow-up to the event, participants to pursue further sustainable partnership opportunities that

leverage innovative solutions and approaches for achieving sustainability and results for children.

Event methodology

At the one day workshop, eighty-five participants engaged in an experiential methodology that provided

an overview of on-the-ground challenges facing East Africa, the foundations of shared value approaches,

where and how innovation can be applied, and opportunities for synergistic engagement between the

wider development sector, private and public sector stakeholders, academia, local partners and UNICEF.

With a strong focus on both theoretical and practical knowledge, participants were divided into cross-

sector groups, and throughout the day they worked together through a series of activities to reinforce

learnings in a practical way. The event used a building-block approach where one module built on another

and was rooted in practical partnership and innovation principles. Programmatic content was interweaved

throughout the presentations, discussions, and group work, with each group tasked to work through a

case study as the day unfolded. The event culminated in groups showcasing their partnership pitch –

encouraging group-wide learning, as well as discussion on the next steps.


Summary of key messages and insights

What is Shared Value?

Shared value serves social needs and business ambitions by drawing on the assets of the private sector

and other actors engaged in the process. In Creating Shared Value, an article in the Harvard Business

Review that helped to popularize the term, Michael E. Porter and Mark Kramer, describe shared value

as “policies and operating practices that enhance the competitiveness of a company while simultaneously

advancing the economic and social conditions in the communities in which it operates”. Such an approach

can lead businesses to re-design products, redefine the markets they are aimed at, improve productivity

through their value chain or foster local community entrepreneurship. Shared value programmes require

partnerships in which all stakeholders benefit by leveraging each other’s assets including business

models, expertise, organisational capacity or competencies.

Throughout the day, speakers and participants formulated a multitude of complementary and inspiring

definitions of shared value. The following quotes illustrate the collective thinking that emerged during the

day. Shared value is…:

“Shared thinking and action enables concrete ways to contribute to sustainable solutions”

“A broad cooperation between different actors which draws on the unique assets of each and every one

of them to deliver products, processes or services”

“A partnership where each and all benefit and get increased value by leveraging each other’s assets,

revenue models, expertise, organisational capacity and competencies”

“A management strategy which enables companies to find business opportunities by tackling social

problems”

“Locking together the unique assets of [the] private sector, civil society and government actors to deliver

products, process or service solutions with commercial scale and deep social value”

Consistent in the above descriptions and definitions of shared value is the inherent and explicit

identification of enlightened self-interest as the basis for creation of mutual value. When different actors

identify, and align around common, strategic interests and then commit to a systematically executed

process to address common needs (doing so by drawing on their core assets and particular competencies

within each value network), the solutions that are created are likely to be both more scalable and

sustainable over time.

Research by the Business and Sustainable Development Commission (published in February 2017)

showed that achieving the SDGs offers an economic prize of at least US$1.1trillion by 2030 for the

private sector in Africa, and a significant piece of this opportunity (and related development challenges)

relates to East Africa. The shared value approach clearly has a fundamental role to play in the region’s

future sustainable development.

https://hbr.org/2011/01/the-big-idea-creating-shared-value


Building Block 1: Understanding Shared Value from the Private Sector

Perspective

This session focused on exploring and reinforcing understanding around how a shared value approach

benefits businesses. Inputs from presenters and participants throughout the day, including from working

groups, highlighted the following points.

It is clear that the private sector is key to unlocking development challenges

Business can have an impact on development challenges through innovative solutions. Private sector

engagement and participation is needed to secure sustainable development at scale in East Africa.

The private sector better understands the role it can play and how it can benefit from social action

Increasingly, many companies understand that action is required to ensure they have a future in countries

and regions where they operate. Within this context, the SDGs represent a very powerful blueprint for

developing strategies and programmes which draw from the insights of all stakeholders. These

programmes are likely to be ‘in tune’ with the communities they serve and can, in turn, help drive

innovation, revenue and profit. “If you do things that resonate with your customers and the community, it

brings profit”.

The emphasis is moving away from philanthropy

Corporates have gradually evolved their approach, bringing sustainability and social value initiatives

closer to the business and their core purpose. There has been a gradual private sector shift from a purely,

or largely philanthropic mindset, towards community investment, cause-related marketing and the

development of social products. The focus is now increasingly on developing shared value commercial

strategies which lie close to the heart of the business and deliver community benefits whilst helping the

business thrive.

SDG-led shared value approach works best when certain conditions are met

It is essential that private sector leaders appreciate the linkages between the core business and

performance with the SDGs. Private sector leaders expect shared value/SDG-related approaches and

objectives to be measurable and likely to scale. Alignment with relevant partners is also key for the

credibility of the approach and each partner needs to contribute through their core competencies. There

is a clear expectation of transparency and disclosure in shared value partnerships, with all parties

understanding what they need and can provide.

A shared value approach needs to be led from the top and involve employees

CEOs and their Boards need to champion SDG-led shared value thinking and also need to take a strong

position at the heart of the business. Employees’ objectives and performance need to be guided by

shared value thinking to ensure tangible outputs are achieved beyond the corporate narrative.


Shared value in action

Presentations of shared value initiatives from private sector participants (from national, regional and

multinational entities) were predicated on the principle of “leave no one behind”. The initiatives and brief

examples that follow focus primarily on growing new markets. Examples shared by entities included the

following:

The above examples illustrate the three main levels at which shared value operates: Reconceiving

products and markets; Redefining productivity in the value chain; and Enabling local cluster development.

Safaricom: Safaricom has benefited from adopting a strong shared value approach through

understanding that its base stations could be used as an anchor for internet access in the remotest

parts of the country coupled with the ethos of inclusive growth. The company’s large portfolio includes

M-PESA – the innovative mobile money transfer system that provides unprecedented access to

financial services to Kenya’s under- and unbanked populations while generating substantial revenue

and business opportunities for Safaricom.

Private Sector Foundation Uganda: Uganda’s Private Sector Foundation has developed in

collaboration with UNICEF, a holistic Public Private Partnership for child rights that enables Uganda’s

private sector to drive the development of its future youth and economic vision. It provides an excellent

platform for shared value partnerships in Uganda.

Mastercard: With a strong imperative to “grow the pie” with unbanked adults, of which there are still

over 2 billion people in emerging economies today, Mastercard is focused on transforming people’s

lives by providing access to a set of new services to help manage risk and invest in their future. With

a target of getting 500 million financially excluded individuals onto its platforms by 2020, Mastercard

is pursuing shared value partnerships and co-creating innovations such as 2Kuze, Kupaa and Kionect.

For example, Kupaa is a software platform and pilot partnership with UNICEF and other actors in

Uganda, with the broad aim of facilitating affordable and flexible education payments.

Nokia: Nokia is working closely with its partners and customers to support the SDGs. Its starting point

is data that shows that globally, only 34 per cent of women are STEM graduates. Nokia is working to

address the gap in Kenya, Uganda and then other African countries in ways which will help create

technology-minded communities (with a focus on women) use its products effectively and also

innovate for social good. Its “network in a backpack” solution can also provide immediate connectivity

in humanitarian emergencies.


Building block 2: Understanding shared value from the development

perspective

The second session focused on exploring and reinforcing understanding of how a shared value approach

creates social impact and value. Inputs from presenters and participants throughout the day, including

from working groups, highlighted the following points.

Shared value thinking gives a new perspective to partnership

Shared value thinking is helping the development sector move from an aid perspective to an investment

and solutions-led approach that focuses not just on addressing poverty, for instance, but also on building

human capital to sustain development. It encourages the development sector to adopt a holistic view of

private sector partners and where they can add value, since it is no longer just their funds which are

sought. SDG-led shared value thinking encourages the development sector to adopt co-creation

strategies to find solutions to the local challenges and needs. The approach is also more likely to lead to

sustainable partnerships which are built on long term local ownership. UNICEF in Eastern and Southern

Africa has adopted a shared value approach to partnership and now focuses on a select number of

partners at country and regional levels that leverage further investments and drives long term local

ownership and resources from a range of private and public actors.

Shared Value approaches unlock opportunities, including the skill gap faced by companies

The development sector understands the opportunities which can be unlocked through shared value

thinking and programming for social impact. Linked to the necessity of good health and nutrition in early

childhood and quality education and learning, these opportunities include the creation of employment,

productivity, regional and global integration and new market opportunities. Training offered by the World

Bank, for example, strengthens entrepreneurial, managerial and technical skills which are critical for

companies in periods of growth.

Some sectors are lagging behind

The development sector is noticing that more ‘traditional’ sectors, such as manufacturing, are slower to

adopt shared value thinking. There may be an opportunity to explore this more with traditional sectors,

as well as connecting other sectors like ICT for cross-fertilization and to leverage more shared value.

Co-development is key

The development sector is increasingly open to the idea of the private sector having a more active role

in the development and humanitarian spaces. There is also increasing understanding that effective

shared value partnerships need to begin by clearly defining the problem in a way that is relevant to each

actor. The idea of different partners playing an active role in co-creating solutions that leverage their

assets is also becoming well understood. However, the process of co-development requires development

organisations and the private sector to think and act differently. This necessitates a transformation within

development organisations in similar ways to the internal realignment required within private sector

organisations.


Building block 3: Innovation in East Africa

In this building block, the emphasis was on introducing innovation as an enabler for shared value creation,

addressing the question: “How can innovation be a driver of shared value in East Africa?” UNICEF and

participants from a number of organisations provided examples of innovation in East Africa, and

discussion followed to identify areas where innovation can contribute to and enhance sustainability.

Global development needs offer a platform ripe for innovation

UNICEF believes that there is ‘opportunity for greatness between the 1 billion people in need and the

number of $100B industries’. Big and complex problems such as urbanisation, migration, climate change,

pandemics and the disenfranchised youth are all innovation opportunities.

Innovation is not as complex as it may seem

Innovation could be simply defined as any new or different solution that has a social impact on the agenda

today. Innovation is more likely to occur when stakeholders shift their focus to development and seek to

deliver more holistic solutions. It often occurs in the form of systemic change and should not be

technology driven. Innovation can be delivered in the form of products, processes, technology, marketing,

business models, organisations, strategies or policies. Innovation can be either incremental or disruptive.

The frameworks and tools for addressing development challenges are changing

With more Facebook users than the population of China or India, the frameworks and tools for action are

rapidly changing. Within this context, improving access to data is key to supporting innovation. UNICEF

currently supports the SDGs by bringing child-related information and expertise to the arena within the

larger context of sustainability and strong linkages to the problems faced by communities. To encourage

and leverage innovative ideas to pressing problems, UNICEF invests in open source technology that can

improve the lives of children, and pilots and scales up innovations in UNICEF programmes across

Eastern and Southern Africa.

An increasing number of development programmes are now ICT enabled

Increasingly, Information Communication Technology (ICT) solutions are implemented to improve

efficiencies and effectiveness of development initiatives. The Principles for Digital Development integrate

established best practices into technology-enabled programs. These Principles inform UNICEF’s

innovations work in Eastern and Southern Africa, and UNICEF encourages the private sector to work

through them. Open standards and open data and user-centered design are two of the core principles.

There are many ways to build a supportive ecosystem for innovation

An enabling environment for fostering innovation occurs through the thinking and the policies and

programmes which: celebrate failure; empower stakeholders; encourage multidisciplinary collaboration

and partnerships; foster trust; prompt cross-pollination; and offer creative spaces. People-centric

innovation requires a design thinking process (an effective structured path for innovation). It starts with

empathy before defining, ideating, prototyping and testing. Support can be offered in a number of ways

but a hands-on approach can sometimes prove more effective. To innovate, it is sometimes necessary

to listen in a different way and to dig deeper for insights. To create a supportive shift in mindset, it is also

key to ensure that stakeholders understand the value/cost of the support they are receiving.


Building block 4: Partnership opportunities in East Africa

Drawing on the preceding building blocks, and working on the case studies for each group, participants

focused on addressing the questions: “How can shared value partnerships be created in East Africa?”

To address the above question, the following process unfolded. Each group was:

Tasked to summarize the main messages from the prior building blocks and to identify and define one

broad partnership area based on the scenario and learning from their case study/scenario.

Presented with a development challenge and a company profile which they used as a basis to pull

together a shared value partnership proposal which addressed the specific development challenge,

whilst unlocking opportunities for the private sector partner.

Asked to present their pitch to a panel and the audience, who commented and asked questions.

Below is a summary of one of the case studies addressed by the working groups and their pitch for

shared value programming, for illustration purposes:

Shared Value Case Study and Proposal

The development challenge:

Regional coverage for immunization in Eastern and Southern Africa is around 70 per cent, but still

many children are not immunized, particularly those from the most marginalized and excluded

communities. Nearly 90 per cent of all un-immunized children in Eastern and Southern Africa live

in nine countries – Angola, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania,

Uganda and Zambia.

The business context:

General Healthcare Corporation is seeking to achieve ongoing growth and profitability in a

responsible manner with the most vulnerable communities at an affordable price.

The shared value pitch:

The aim of the presented shared value programme is to “Improve health outcomes by increasing

business turnover and through multi-stakeholder partnerships which bring together and leverage

the assets of the government, private sector, development organisations”.

The proposed programme brings together General Healthcare Corp, UNICEF as well as a

telecommunication company and academia.

The suggested approach consists of using mobile retail outlets and sim cards distributors to raise

awareness on immunization. The narrative delivered to customers would need to be aligned with

the brands involved and designed to enhance the value. Narratives could consist in ‘myth busters’.

Cash transfers could be used as an incentive. An app could also be developed in partnership with

the mobile service provider to register and track children who have been immunized. This app could

in turn be used by the pharmaceutical company to engage with its customer base.

Expected challenges in deploying the outlined shared value programme include the difficulty for

access to target groups, the alignment and commitment of partners and the insufficient

technological infrastructure.


Other group case studies and insights are summarized below. Please note that the purpose of each of

the groups was learning, rather than a fully-fledged, best practice shared value partnership. It was fully

acknowledged during the workshop that the development of such a partnership takes significant time and

expertise.

Example 1

Neonatal mortality reduction is increasingly the “unfinished business” of under-five mortality reduction,

and most infants still die from preventable and treatable causes such as pneumonia, malaria, and

diarrhea. Targit Systems is a one of the best-known tech companies globally with wide-ranging

operations. The company is looking to achieve scale

and sustainability in the East Africa market, and is

increasingly developing ICT solutions that increase

network coverage. As a part of its social investment,

Targit decided to invest in the health sector, and

developed a shared value partnership to improve

access to live saving information to reduce neonatal

mortality. Through a co-creation phase, key

stakeholders – including the ministry of health,

community members, and development partners –

would develop a technology-based solution informed

by the specific needs of the users. Key highlights from

the partnership include the need for a systems

approach, strong monitoring and evaluation, and

feedback with communities.

Example 2

Strides have been made in increasing access to

primary school in Eastern and Southern Africa,

however, 9.22 million children are still out of school in

the region. Two of the many factors impacting quality

education are teacher retention and quality of

teaching, with the high pupil teacher ratio resulting in

demotivation among teachers. Kenya Manufacturing

Plc. is a diverse Kenya-based infrastructure and

manufacturing company and is struggling to maintain

its commitment to shareholders’ interests and the

payment of dividends. Looking to address the quality

of education issue in Kenya, which has led to low-

skilled employees, the company decided to work with

key stakeholders to find solutions for youth

employment by building a bridge between education

and employment, and providing the private sector with

qualified skills and talent. This would be implemented

through a demand-driven collaboration that provides

access to life skills and professional skills training. The

Participant Top Tips for creating shared value

A deep awareness of the needs of the

community which the shared value

programme is seeking to address.

A clearly stated opportunity to create value

for the company involved (in relation to

turnover, customer base or to developing

new products and markets).

A clearly defined objective for the shared

value partnership and programme.

A holistic approach which takes into

account the whole ecosystem.

The roles, core competencies, expectations

and commitments of all partners are clear.

There is also a clear understanding of what

each contributes and the benefits for each.

A clear role for innovation

A consolidation and leveraging of the

strengths of partners.

A well-designed monitoring and evaluation

process is in place as well as continuous

feedback channels.

Barriers to success have been clearly

identified and possible solutions providers

identified, with a compelling rationale to

support their possible engagement in the

programme.

A stated ROI enables all parties to

understand the value add of the

programme.


education sector and institutions would provide education opportunities, the private sector would offer

apprenticeships, and the government would facilitate policies. Identified challenges include bureaucracy,

resistance to change, funding, and lengthy implementation timeframes.

Example 3

Kenya is a country with great economic potential but also serious concerns regarding the quality and

equity of education that is negatively impacting workforce development. Although the last decade has

seen an overall increase in the number of pupils accessing education, learning quality has remained

poor. TLA Financial Kenya is a subsidiary of the multinational TLA Group, headquartered in Germany

and with a focus on Asia, Africa and the Middle East, and like other major banks it has a perceived

shortage of capital and a growing cost base that is out of proportion to the bank’s future business

prospects. Looking to leverage the company’s corporate interest, the shared value proposition is to

provide student with loans for their education through technology. This will result in students receiving an

education, the bank expanding its business with a new customer base, and the government benefiting

from increased economic growth and an educated workforce. A key barrier identified in this partnership

is how to engage the government and partners to improve the quality of education and not just provide

financing to access education opportunities.

Example 4

In Eastern and Southern Africa, 62 per cent of

children under five have not had their birth recorded.

Without a birth certificate, children cannot enrol in

school and are not eligible to access services

provided by governments. SurTel is a mobile network

operator that has a large market share in East Africa,

and is looking to improve its workforce motivation and

offer human development programmes. Greater

social investment is one way that the company has

identified to achieve these goals. By partnering with

communities and local and national governments,

Surtel seeks to co-develop a community driven

project that provides a legal identity for all. This

project would increase birth registration and improve access to key services for children, help Surtel

achieve its CSR policy and improve its brand value, and support governments in achieving SDG 16 of a

more inclusive society through providing a legal identity. The partnership would be staged to allow for an

extensive co-creation phase in order to inform the design and deployment of the solution.

Example 5

Stunting of children (low height for age) occurs as a result of prolonged periods of inadequate intake of

nutritious food and poor hygiene and sanitation practices. Stunting jeopardizes children’s survival, health,

growth and development, and when it affects a large proportion of the population, it can hold back the

development of the whole country and region. World Supplies Group operates a fast-moving consumer

goods market in Africa, and faces multiple, interlinked and complex challenges related to its sourcing and

production, the future of agriculture, and the wellbeing of the future global population. A shared value

Participants identified potential hurdles in

establishing a shared value partnership:

• Bureaucracy

• Resistance to change

• Lack of funding

• Lengthy implementation phase

• Access to target groups can be difficult

• Alignment and commitment of partners

• Existing technological infrastructure

• Low levels of literacy

• Technological know how


partnership was developed to tackle inefficiencies in the water supply system through a collaboration

between the government, communities, and start-ups. The engagement between stakeholders would

leverage the power of start-ups to catalyze innovative approaches for water systems. Through this

partnership, communities would have improved access to safe water (and therefore better nutrition), the

company would receive data for market research, and the government could source innovative ideas and

technologies that address sustainability issues.


Summary of Key Learnings from the Workshop

Whilst there is currently no single definition of what shared value is, inputs throughout the day concurred

on the key elements which best define shared valued partnerships and programmes. Shared value

partnerships are those which address development challenges and achieve social impact whilst

contributing to business imperatives. Partnerships are then built on the core assets, skills and ambitions

of each partner to achieve measurable goals which benefit the community as well as the corporate sector.

There is growing consensus that shared value is a great framework around which to align the aims and

aspirations of the development and private sector in a more meaningful and impactful way.

There is an increasing understanding and adoption of shared value thinking across the private sector

which increasingly understands how it can benefit in terms of revenue, profits, customer acquisition and

market share. Companies that lead shared value thinking from the top will be most effective as well as

those that engage their employees. Implementation tools need to mirror those used in business by

defining measurable goals and measuring outputs. Drawing on innovation as an enabler for change,

businesses are most likely to step into shared value programmes which demonstrate that they are

scalable and where there is a strong degree of alignment with partners. As is the case for commercial

delivery, businesses will expect all parties to be clear about their core competencies, roles and

contribution to the programme.

Shared value thinking is enabling the development sector to shift from a philanthropy mindset to one

focused on long term partnership. The development sector is increasingly more likely to engage

holistically with the private sector, considering the latter’s core assets beyond financial investment. This

approach is more likely to lead to co-creation of opportunities which in turn unlock broader development

benefits such as the creation of employment or new market opportunities. The development sector may

have a particularly key role to play in helping bridge the skills gap and market access faced by companies.

It may also have a role to play in supporting more traditional sectors such as the construction sector in

adopting and putting into action shared value thinking through cross-sector fertilisation.

Innovation can be systemic and is not limited to technology-centric solutions. It can be delivered through

processes, policies, products, and business models. Data plays a great role in fostering innovation and

there is much to do to harness the power of open data. The development sector utilises ICT tools in the

design and deployment of their programmes, and the Principles for Digital Development guide the

innovation work. Ecosystems which encourage failure, foster partnerships and create a trust-based

environment are more conducive to innovation. Hands-on support also tends to be effective. Sometimes,

innovation simply consists of listening more deeply to stakeholders to unlock what motivates them. It can

also consist of simply shifting the mindset of stakeholders by quantifying the value of the support they

receive.

Overall, the best shared value programmes are those which combine: a deep awareness of

community needs; clearly identified commercial opportunities; clearly defined and measurable goals; a

set of partners who clearly understand their roles and what they will gain from the partnership; an

awareness of the challenges expected in delivery and ideally a return on investment which makes the

investment case for the programme.


Participant List and Workshop Evaluation

Based on the workshop survey, 82 per cent of participants surveyed responded that the workshop either

“certainly met” or “highly met” the overall objective of “initiating a strong dialogue on a shared value

approach.” When reviewing the

most effective building blocks

from the workshop, 53 per cent

of participants responded that

Building Block 1 was most the

most effective, followed by 26

per cent for Building Block 2.

Over 88 per cent of participants

indicated that the workshop

increased their understanding

of shared value partnership with

30 per cent responding that the

workshop “absolutely increased

understanding”.

Furthermore, 94 per cent of

participants said they would

take forward the shared value

approach in their organisations

and would value a similar forum

to discuss shared value and

better understand partnership

opportunities. Through the

feedback, participants indicated

that they plan to organize

briefing sessions in their organisation, review benchmarks that could be adopted, continue discussions

with participants from the workshop, and look at how innovation, specifically, could be a driver for new

shared value approaches. Sample quotes from survey respondents include:

• The content as such was not new to me, but it was eye opening to hear how the Kenyan and Ugandan

private sector partners promoted SDGs and shared value. … we need to clarify what we offer to private

sector in terms of partnerships… and how we define “shared value”. This will allow building better and

more successful partnerships.

• In my case, it was not so much about learning the substance as I have quite a bit of experience in

discussing interlinkages and “shared value”, but it was the methodology and the brainstorming

approach that I found have truly “added value”.

• The understanding of ways in which shared value can be implemented by various sectors was made

very clear by the presenters… and the fact that great minds were brought together from different

organisations really made it more comprehensive.

Workshop Participant Organisations Aalto University National Bank of Kenya

Astonfield Solar/Aquazone Nokia

Barclays Nuovo Nordic Healthcare Services

Chase Bank Poimapper/pajat Solutions

Choose your Future Private Sector Foundation Uganda

Co-operative Bank RHINO Cement

Diaconia University of Applied Sciences Safaricom

Embassy of Finland Serena Hotels

Embassy of Ireland SITRA

Equity Bank Slush

Equity Group Foundation Startup Sauna

Extractives Baraza - Strathmore University

Strathmore Extractives Industry Centre

Finnpartnership The Guardian Ltd

Fuzu The World Bank Group

General Electric (GE) Healthcare Turkana County

Global Compact UNICEF Burundi

Intel Corporation UNICEF ESARO

IOM UNICEF Finland

Kenya Association of Manufacturers UNICEF Global Innovation Center

Kenya Bankers Association UNICEF Kenya

Koodibussi UNICEF Rwanda

Lixil Corporation UNICEF Tanzania

Loughborough University London UNICEF Uganda

Lune Group Ltd University of Jyväskylä

Mastercard Labs for Financial Inclusion University of Nairobi

Maternity Foundation University of Turku

McKinsey Social Initiative Yusudi

Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland


Shared Value in Practice – Next Steps

Following the workshop, the Government of Finland and UNICEF are exploring further forums or

initiatives to take forward the concept of shared value partnerships, utilizing innovation as a primary tool.

As a direct follow-up, numerous stakeholders based in East Africa are actively following up with each

other to initiate more detailed dialogues on shared value and potential partnerships. This involves, in a

very practical way, exploratory meetings between the private sector partner and the development sector

partners, reviews of internal organisational interest for this approach, the sharing of new contacts and

ideas, and the development of specific new shared value concepts that may ultimately lead to new shared

value partnerships in East Africa.

creating sustainable solutions through partnership … · or largely philanthropic mindset, towards...

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